American Idol (season 1)
The first season of American Idol premiered on January 14, 2015. The first season is hosted by Ryan Seacrest. On the May 21 finale, Kane Reilly was announced as the first ever winner of American Idol over finalist James Vaughn. Regional Auditions Auditions were held in Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Pittsburgh, New York, Tallahassee, and Omaha. Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2014 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. Green mile The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 12 or 13, 2014, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 12, 2015. Semi-finals The semi-finals began on February 17, 2015. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals. Semi-finalists Females *'Cali Owens', 23 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Sioux, SD. *'Jillian Ramsey', 26 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in San Diego, CA. *'Brynn Lyon', 16 years old, auditioned in New York City, and currently resides in Stamford, CT. *'Khloe McKay', 19 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. *'Kelly Stone', 23 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in San Francisco, CA. *'Sophia Santana', 16 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Cheyenne, WY. Males *'Danial Safford', 24 years old, auditioned in New York City, and currently resides in Akron, OH. *'Erik Kidd', 25 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Denver, CO. *'Derick Coleman', 20 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Las Vegas, NV. *'Marquise Raymond', 24 years old, auditioned in Atlanta, and currently resides in Atlanta, GA. *'Antoine Holmes', 26 years old, auditioned in New York City, and currently resides in Baltimore, MD. *'Blaze Daniels', 18 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Portland, OR. Top 24 Theme: Billboard #1 Hits Females Males Top 20 Theme: 60's Songs Females Males Top 16 Theme: 70's Songs Females Males Finals Finalists The 12 finalists were announced on March 5, 2015. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week until the final two, where one will be declared the winner. The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable. *'Kane Reilly', 24 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Bismarck, ND. On May 21, 2015, Reilly was announced as the first ever winner of American Idol. *'James Vaughn', 21 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, UT. On May 21, 2015, Vaughn was announced as the runner-up to winner Kane Reilly. *'Siena Carney', 16 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Seattle, WA. On May 14, 2015, Carney was eliminated from American Idol, placing third. *'Ryan Harrell', 23 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides Salem, OR. On May 7, 2015, Harrell was eliminated from American Idol, placing fourth. *'Holly Anne Conway', 19 years old, auditioned in Omaha, and currently resides in Mobile, AL. On April 30, 2015, Conway was eliminated from American Idol, placing fifth. *'Hannah Joseph', 17 years old, auditioned in Pittsburgh, and currently resides in Louisville, KY. On April 23, 2015, Joseph was eliminated from American Idol, placing sixth. *'Caylee Lawson', 20 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Boise, ID. On April 16, 2015, Lawson was eliminated from American Idol, placing seventh. *'Makhi Bryant', 18 years old, auditioned in Tallahassee, and currently resides in Miami, FL. On April 9, 2015, Bryant was eliminated from American Idol, placing eighth. *'Vanessa Rhodes', 26 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Sacramento, CA. On April 2, 2015, Rhodes was eliminated from American Idol, placing ninth. *'Damian Matthews', 24 years old, auditioned in Denver, and currently resides in Albuquerque, NM. On March 26, 2015, Matthews was eliminated from American Idol, placing tenth. *'Clayton Cunningham', 23 years old, auditioned in Omaha, and currently resides in Kansas City, KS. On March 19, 2015, Cunningham was eliminated from American Idol, placing eleventh. *'Ada O'Connell', 27 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Helena, MT. On March 12, 2015, O'Connell was eliminated from American Idol, placing twelfth. Top 12 – Lennon-McCartney Songbook Mentor: Paul McCartney Top 11 – Michael Jackson Top 10 – Motown Mentor: Smokey Robinson Top 9 – Year They Were Born Top 8 – Grand Ole Opry Mentor: Randy Travis Top 7 – Disco Top 6 – Songs from the 21st Century Top 5 – Songs from the Cinema Top 4 – Rock music Top 3 – Judges' choice / Jimmy Iovine's choice / Contestant's choice Top 2 – Contestant's choice / Previous song / Winner's single Elimination chart Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not.